Erick Lwamba Mayanga is an accountant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haggai leader, and president of his country’s Haggai national association in the Katanga Region — a historical part of southeastern DRC, bordering Lake Tanganyika to the east, Zambia to the south, and Angola to the west.

His role with Haggai means he oversees implementing Haggai’s equipping in the national ministries of his country. That includes many different tasks, such as spearheading the local Haggai team, leading them in annual planning, and hosting meetings. He carries out leadership programs, reports on what’s happening in the region, and maintains relationships with Haggai supporters relevant to the region. Of course, like most Haggai leaders, these tasks are all done in addition to his profession as an accountant.

Mayanga’s life is a busy one, yet full of peace, hope, and joy. So often, he finds himself in a room with men and women, each eager to learn and grow God’s Kingdom. Everyone is dressed in colors as vibrant as the room’s energy, and this is where he feels most at ease; for when it’s not the Haggai leaders and alumni he’s managing, it’s in these rooms of young, new church leaders where he is fulfilling God’s call.

Last year, Mayanga reached nearly 30 young people with a leadership program developed and executed by the local Haggai team in Lubumbashi, a city in the southeast corner of the Haut-Katanga Province in the DRC. Nearly two years later, that program is still in practice. This year, the local Haggai team equipped 33 women in this same city, and then 15 pastors in neighboring Likasi. All these leaders made a commitment to carry out the leadership equipping in their churches and associations. Mayanga was able to introduce several Haggai modules and began a conversation that will lay the foundation for a long, prosperous future in those leaders’ churches.

Many of those young leaders were already Christians, and most made a commitment to follow Jesus early in the process and to implement the Haggai methods in their churches. Today, they continue to invite Mayanga to participate in their conversations, attend their meetings, and worship with them at church services. It’s created a community that ignites spiritual growth; a place to celebrate, support, and learn from each other as leadership methods evolve and leaders grow more confident in their ability to share the Gospel and equip others to do the same.

“After my participation in Haggai, the members elected me as the area president. My mission is to improve the way we carry out the leadership programs and to further implement the annual plan, focusing on the Haggai modules. This year, we plan to reach 120 participants, including young people, female leaders, leaders in civil society, and pastors.”

Mayanga is still working with those 30 Lubumbashi leaders. He’ll finish up their program with the hope that pictures and testimonials will abound — materials that can be shared with other groups in the same region to illustrate and document the joy and evolution of churches across the DRC working to end Gospel poverty through the equipping of their young leaders.

“I’m used to presenting the Gospel this way — through equipping young leaders to disciple their own congregations. It requires a lot — they must be born again, first, but with their commitment to faith, my goal is to help them to improve the way that they lead their followers and their church.”

The best part is that these sessions aren’t a one-and-done. As evidenced by the group in Likasi, they’ve been developed to be ongoing, providing church leaders with the tools to continue evolving alongside their churches.

Previously, Mayanga completed the same program with almost 50 young people in his own church. After Likasi, he’ll move on to another area. He’ll continue to teach young leaders about crafting a church’s vision, achieving individual goals, and diving into Christian leadership. One group at a time, he’s changing the way churches in DRC are doing church.

“Haggai International helped me to improve my own skills as a teacher, and it’s given me the tools and the methods to equip other leaders. Because of that, I can make an impact on Gospel poverty in my country.”

Written by Jennifer Colosimo